The significant decline is in stark contrast to the average yearly growth rates since 2002 of 8.5 per cent, federal government statistics show.

The decline in enrolments has hit hardest in the vocational education and English language areas, where numbers fell more than 21 per cent on March last year.

But higher education enjoyed modest growth, with a 3.6 per cent increase on last year’s enrolments. The increase is consistent with what Victorian universities have told The Age, most saying they are yet to feel the full force of the sector’s decline, warning it is most likely to hit in 2012……